Stone Heart
by storm-aurora
Summary: They say that one week before you or your soulmate departs from this world, a timer will appear on each of your wrists. On one person's wrist is the timer that counts down to the day that the other leaves this world. On the other's wrist is the timer that counts down to the day that you two are reunited. AgencyShipping soulmate AU.
1. White

**A/N: This is my first attempt at doing a soulmate AU, and I think it turned out pretty well. Originally I wanted to write this for White's birthday and the second part for Black's birthday, but that...didn't happen. Regardless, enjoy the angst :)**

The timer appeared at the same time that he collapsed.

I felt the prickling sensation in my wrist before I saw it, and I knew what it meant. My father had told me many times about the day that his four numbers appeared, and the desperation he felt when he realized he had only a week left with his beloved.

I refused to acknowledge it at first, because to acknowledge it was to accept the fact that I or my soulmate had a limited time remaining in this world. However, as the professor and I picked him up together, I happened to rotate my wrist and I saw the numbers on my skin.

6:23:57:42.

6 days, 23 hours, 57 minutes, 42 seconds.

It was only the need to keep Black off the ground that kept my limbs from completely giving out. Four numbers…four numbers did not condemn me. Four numbers condemned _him_.

For the first time I found myself hoping that Black wasn't my soulmate. As the week wore on, and he never awakened, I clung desperately to that hope more and more. Perhaps I was one of those unlucky people who never got to meet their soulmate; the prospect was more desirable than spending my last days with my soulmate beside his bed, with him unconscious. But even though my mind despaired to accept it, every beat of my heart told me that it was my soulmate whose hand I held, my soulmate whose hair I stroked, my soulmate whose forehead I kissed.

 _My soulmate, my soulmate, my soulmate…_

I could easily confirm or deny that he was my soulmate by checking his own wrist. It wouldn't be hard: just lift up the blanket, turn his wrist over, and look for numbers on the inside. If there were none, or the numbers were smaller than mine, then he wasn't my soulmate. End of discussion. But I couldn't make myself go through even those simple actions, because I knew I would find the numbers on his wrist that condemned me.

No matter what the numbers were, they would spell pain for me. If they were large, then I would have to live for years without my other half. If they were small, then we'd only have a short time before we were reunited, but I would have to share his pain of knowing that I only have a brief time left in this world.

And as long as he slept, he didn't suffer that pain at all.

As the week wore on and Black still did not wake up, I began to fear that he really was going to slip away from me in his sleep somehow. But finally, _finally_ , on the day that the Pokémon League opened, he finally opened his eyes and joined us in conversation. I was so relieved that I would have swept him up in a hug if it weren't for the unsettling subject matter at hand.

But then…

"Where are you going, Black?"

"Nuvema Town. I'm going home."

I was stunned. After coming so far, he was just going to give up on his dream? Just like that? I told him as much, but he just said that N was right when he said that his dream had changed. That he had gotten dragged into something way bigger than him, and he barely understood what was going on anymore.

He turned away from me, and I moved to put a hand on his shoulder to stop him from just walking away like that. But as I did, I caught a glimpse of black numbers out of the corner of my eye.

0:8:45:12.

"I only have seven badges, anyways."

Black looked back over his shoulder to give me this parting remark and saw my hand hanging, frozen, in the air. I quickly covered my wrist and pulled it to my chest. He wasn't close enough to read the numbers; however, he glanced down at his own wrist, covered now by his jacket, and I knew he knew what I was hiding. He knew he had less than a week at best to wield the title of Champion – should he manage to win the Pokémon League – before he passed on.

There was no convincing argument I could make to persuade him to try when we both knew that he wouldn't be able to enjoy it. All I could do was quietly offer him some ancient advice:

"Carpe diem."

He did end up challenging Drayden and going to the Pokémon League, as I knew he should. He did end up winning the tournament and becoming Champion, as I knew he could. He did end up awakening Reshiram and defeating N, as I knew he would.

For a brief, fleeting moment, I forgot about the timer on my wrist and allowed myself to believe that, now that Team Plasma's king had left, everything would be alright.

"Now that Zekrom's gone, Reshiram must feel like half of itself is missing."

I can empathize with Reshiram, now.

"Stand back, Boss! Since Zekrom isn't here, Reshiram's reverting back to the Light Stone! We have to be careful so we don't get sucked in, too!"

"What a lovely idea. I'd very much like for you to be a part of the Light Stone along with Reshiram."

Even the memory of Ghetsis's voice sends chills down my spine…before being replaced with cold, hard rage.

"To think that the very hero who thwarted my plans would give me such a magnificent way to bury himself."

Black was suddenly flung away from me and thrown against Reshiram's chest. I wanted to help him, but he warned me against getting any closer or I might get trapped as well. I was about to run and find someone else to help when I happened to look down at Gigi in my arms…and there were those four black numbers again, taunting me.

0:0:2:33.

His time was running out, and I knew that there was nothing I could do to stop it.

"Boss…my promise…I didn't break my promise."

I glanced up at him sharply, having no idea what promise he was talking about. Then he unzipped his jacket and revealed the BW Agency logo on his shirt underneath.

"I promised you in Castelia City, remember? That when I entered the Pokémon League, I'd wear this."

I was stunned at first that he had actually remembered that request I had made, all those months ago. We'd progressed so far since then, and we were so much more than boss and employee, so I certainly wasn't going to hold him to it.

But that's just the kind of person Black is…the kind of person who will go above and beyond to accomplish anything, as long as he thinks it's important. The kind of person who, even while he's being sealed away inside a stone for eternity, still thinks to ask if he managed to pay back all the money he owed.

Technically, he still did owe me money for the equipment he destroyed. But I didn't have the heart to hold a debt against my soulmate. Especially as the timer on my skin tingled, signaling his departure from this world.

I don't have the heart for much of anything, anymore. The loss of my other half has left me with an emptiness in my heart, and the only way I can make it stop hurting is by turning my heart to stone – cold and unfeeling, but painless.

I will not let myself feel anything until we are finally united once more.


	2. Black

_It's weird to know when people are going to die._ That's what I thought when my parents first explained to me how soulmate timers work. Even though I was – how young…nine? Ten? – I still knew what they _really_ meant when they said that one soulmate "departs from this world" and that both soulmates are later "reunited". Why would anybody want to know exactly when someone else is going to die? The idea that one day I'd have numbers like that on _my_ wrist, too, was uncomfortable for me to think about – especially when I just wanted to focus on preparing for my Pokémon League challenge.

Then again, I thought that it was just plain _stupid_ that people's fates are determined by a string of black numbers on their wrist. Though stupid it may be, the fact still remains that those timers are our reality. And so, after I collapsed, when I saw my own timer in my dreams, I knew that those six numbers weren't just my imagination. They spelled out my soulmate's fate – while at the same time implicitly sentencing me.

1:38:2:18:46:07.

1 year, 38 weeks, 2 days, 18 hours, 46 minutes, 7 seconds.

Cursed numbers.

I didn't need to look at them when I awoke – what was the point? I was going to die long before they finished counting down. Only my soulmate would need to know what those cursed numbers said – and I didn't _want_ her, whoever she was, to share my curse of knowing when her time is up. For all I knew, I could be dead long before I met my soulmate…

But when I caught a glimpse of black numbers on White's wrist, I was confronted with the obvious yet dreadful reality that I was talking to my soulmate then and there.

I didn't know what to do – show her my numbers? Ask her to show me hers? Pretend that I saw nothing and continue back to Nuvema Town like I planned?

I ended up doing none of those. White was right – I needed to make the most of my time left in this world, _especially_ if it was brief. Besides, if I didn't try to awaken Reshiram and stop N from forcing all of Unova to liberate their Pokémon, who would? For my own goal to become the Pokémon League Champion, for my Pokémon who helped me on my journey, and for the Unova region that we love, I had to get to the Pokémon League.

If I hadn't, would I still have ended up in the position I am now?

I know I shouldn't consider the possibility. Being trapped in the Light Stone is a small price to pay for the sake of protecting the people of Unova from Ghetsis and Team Plasma. But I feel so alone in this place…

I miss White. I miss my soulmate.

My timer was at 1 year, 37 weeks, and 2 days when I was locked away. 1 year, 37 weeks, and 2 days until I'm reunited with my soulmate. Less than that by now, I suppose. I don't actually know how long I've been in here. The concept of time is foreign to this place, and I can't see my timer anymore – that mark was a stain on my body, not my consciousness.

That's all I am now…a consciousness, existing in a world of pure light and yearning to be restored. Reshiram's consciousness is here too. I can feel its presence, even though it's intangible. It pulls at me to follow it, and I do; I have no power to resist.

But suddenly I feel a tug on my soul even stronger than the force Reshiram exerts on me, and like an Iron Ball drawn to a Magnet I'm pulled towards it. Reshiram is pulled along with me, and as we are pulled along I gradually feel more of a sense of belonging – I know I'm coming to where I'm supposed to be.

When the pull finally eases up, I'm enveloped in warmth, and for the first time since I was trapped, I can sense something beyond Reshiram's conscience and my own – something from the old world. I press up as close to it as I can manage. I feel like I will finally be whole again if only I reach it, but some invisible force still holds me back. Still, I feel more at peace than I ever was before, and the warmth never leaves me. I let Reshiram take the lead again, for I am content to stay where I am.

However, after a time, Reshiram's conscience begins to pull on me with more force than before – now, it pulls me away from that which soothes my soul. But to be split from that now is unfathomable, and I resist Reshiram's will with every molecule of potential that my soul possesses. It's my soulmate who calls to me, drawing me in. I'm certain of it.

But Reshiram continues to pull me away from her, not letting me stay where I am. Reshiram pulls, and I pull back… _White is right here_ …it's a battle of wills, quite literally… _just let me stay_ …Reshiram drags me away… _I want to stay with her_ …but the further I get, the harder it is to fight…

But something else stops us now. And, for the first time in over a year, I hear a person's voice.

"I know what I have to do now. And… _Ghetsis_ , I…I'm going to stop you myself!"

My senses are suddenly flooded with new information, and it takes me a few seconds for me to process it all. I'm falling, and there's a forest beneath me, and it's really cold, and –

I scream. This is like the Celestial Tower all over again. It's nice to finally be free from the Light Stone and get my body back, but why does it have to happen just as I'm in mortal peril?

"Black!" A familiar voice is desperately shouting my name. I missed that voice. I twist my head over my shoulder, straining for a glimpse of its owner. Let the ground come as it comes; it's no longer of importance to me.

A hand suddenly clasps my wrist. I flip over and see my soulmate above me, wind whipping through her beautiful brown locks and an expression of pure joy blooming on her face – it mirrors my own. White yanks me into her chest and chokes out my name, but that's not enough to satisfy the raw ache that permeates my soul after being separated from her for so long. I wind an arm around her neck and crush her lips to mine.

There's nothing particularly graceful or natural about the kiss; I've never kissed anyone before and we're a few hundred feet above the ground and falling. But after being practically nonexistent for who knows how long, I need it to reassure me that this is _real_ , I'm _alive_ again and White is with me, too. Tears drip onto my face and I pull back, but the relieved smile on her face tells me that I have nothing to be concerned about and that she needed that kiss, too.

We keep our arms wrapped around each other and our cheeks pressed together until her Mandibuzz sets us safely on the ground. "Barbara?" I guess. "How long has it been since she evolved?" I don't know how long it's been since I was sealed away; I'm sure this is the first of many changes I'll have to adjust to now that I'm back.

"About thirty seconds," White says distractedly.

She glances from her wrist to mine, then takes my wrist again and rolls up the sleeve. She turns it over a couple of times and lets go of it, grabbing my other wrist now. Again, she rolls up the sleeve and turns it over a couple of times before letting go of it, and she looks up at me in awe. "What?" I ask, bewildered.

"Our timers," she says. "They're gone. They both finished counting down, and now they're gone."

My brow furrows. "But that doesn't make sense. They're only supposed to disappear when…" I trail off as the gears in my head start turning. They're supposed to disappear when both soulmates have died. When someone's timer ticks down to zero, their soulmate dies – that's how it always happens. But is that necessarily how they work?

I think back to what my parents told me about the rules of the timers. They didn't say anything about death – it was _when one soulmate departs from this world_ and _when the two are reunited_. I was trapped in the Light Stone. I existed as nothing but a consciousness. I no longer existed in this world. And now, I've been freed, and I've been reunited with my soulmate. The rules of the soulmate timers mean exactly what they say – we were just interpreting them the wrong way.

I laugh out loud and face the forest. I take in a deep breath, and I scream, "WAHOO! I escaped the Light Stone and I found my soulmate! I really, really, really love my soulmate! Look out, world – Black and White are back together and ready to take you on!"

 **A/N: I just love happy endings :)))**

 **Actually, the whole reason I made the premise of the AU so vague in the first place was so I could make that twist at the end with the meaning of the timers. (I love semantics.) I had thought about waiting until Black is actually freed so I could use his canon release scene for this, but it's taken way too long and let's be honest, this is probably a better release scene than whatever Kusaka will give us.**

 **Also, if you were wondering why Black's timer isn't two full years, it's because of the way the timing of BW and B2W2 line up. The Pokémon League in BW takes place sometime in January, and B2W2 takes place in September-October. I'm making the assumption that when people say in B2W2 that it's been two years since Black disappeared, they're referring to the approximate length of time it's been rather than the numbered years. I determined the length of Black's timer by using January 19th (the release date of ch 18) as the date he gets trapped in the stone and October 8th (his birthday) as the date he's released.**

 **And finally, if this ending wasn't angsty enough for you, let me remind you of the fact that Black and White will have to go through this all over again when they _actually_ die. :3**


End file.
